Bad Wolf Bay
by JennyTylerSmith
Summary: AU Famous author John Smith has a writer's block and moves to a cabin in the beach to try and get some inspiration but he gets the shock of his life when he stumbles across a woman, who will turn his life around. Who Little Mermaid style. Birthday fic for Krazy Ky-Sta Hatter
1. Chapter 1

Bad Wolf Bay

Chapter 1

His blue eyes seared the screen in front of him. His brain was utterly jumbled up and frustration seeped off him. If he had longer hair he would have pulled in out in annoyance because his mind was blank, completely empty. The cursor blinked in front of him mockingly, while his own mind was blank. Growling, he took the laptop off his lap and placed it on the table before the urge to chuck it out of the window overtook him.

Once out of the way, he leaned his head on top of his hands and took a very deep breath. He needed to remain calm; he knew that if he got too worked up then the story wouldn't come to him anyway. The whole reason why he was plonked in this isolated cabin in the middle of a beach anyway was to get through his writer's block and finish his story. His publisher, Donna (or fire breathing dragon as he called her) had gotten on his case when he hadn't finished his newest book in the series. She said it was imperative that he finish this because right now the book series was very popular and if he didn't put out a new book now while the iron was still hot, then he will lose his readers and this book would be a flop.

With that in mind, when Donna learned of his writer's block, she immediately sent him on paid 'vacation' to an-almost-empty beach in the middle of Cardiff, the Bad Wolf Bay, hoping that change of scenery and peace will help him finish it than the overcrowded and stressful city of London. Initially he had been happy with that, because he thought that the change of scenery would get his muses singing, but he had been in this god forsaken beach for one whole week and still he had not written anything new; it grated on John's nerve and he was slowly losing patience. He was an impatient man by nature anyway and this certainly wasn't helping.

He ran his hand through his cropped hair and took another deep breath. He glowered at the walls, the isolation simply raising his temper. His apartment in London was always noisy, the hustle and bustle of the city could be heard from outside the windows, but here the only noise he ever usually heard were the howling winds. Typical British weather; he was situated on a beach and it was pouring twenty four seven.

Today was the first time he couldn't hear the rain, or the wind. He looked back at his laptop and still nothing came to him, no inspiration, just nothing.

He glanced at his door, mind working.

Decision made, he got up and walked towards it. Since his brain was already too fried up to try and write anything, he decided that it might be better if he took a walk, clear his head a bit before he decides to start punching walls in frustration at his inability to write.

Darkness greeted him as he went outside. It was barely past midnight, and since there was no rain tonight he could see the stars twinkling, as a light, pleasant breeze caressed him. He sighed out in relief, enjoying this peace. Being inside the cabin all day made him feel claustrophobic so being outside gave him a breather.

Watching the waves crashing in shore was soothing; he did not hate beaches, not at all. He had pleasant memories of it; he smiled as he remembered the summer holidays which he spent mostly on the beaches, even when it was pouring cats and dogs. It had been a routine throughout his childhood, family holiday situated near the shore that is until _it _happened. After the incident occurred, this tradition vanished and he stopped coming to beaches for a while. Coming to Bad Wolf Bay was actually the first time he had been back to beaches since the last time, which was in his teenage years.

Remembering about that day made him sombre and his eyes darkened. He tried not thinking about it but it often crept up. He closed his eyes and tried his best to clear his mind of those thoughts; if he had a way to erase his own memories he would. It took a while but his head cleared up.

Now cooler, he turned to go back inside the cabin when he noticed something-a flash of gold and white-out of the corner of his eyes. Blinking once more, he turned fully and slowly started walking towards it, to try and see what it was.

He increased his pace as he got closer towards it. It was only when he was fifteen metres away did he truly realise that the huddled up lump of gold and white that he had seen from a distance was a human girl without a stitch of clothing on her.

Shock coursed through him at the sight and hit him like a ton of bricks; the implication of that sight especially at this hour of the night wasn't pleasant at all. He looked around to see if anyone else was nearby lurking but the beach was practically empty, only living creatures being him and the girl (if she was still alive).

Worried for her safety, he started running again.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

She felt warm, very warm; in fact she had never felt this hot before. As she swam to consciousness, she realised that her head was throbbing very badly. She tried to reach her hand to it but for some reason she couldn't move her hand at all. Panic coursed through her and awareness seeped in. It took her few more seconds to realise that she had been comatose and was gaining back her senses now.

Slowly she opened her eyes, and a litany of blue, black and brown flashes overwhelmed her. Taken by surprise, she closed it again. Something was wrong, very wrong, that's not how her home looked, definitely not those colours. Now prepared for the unexpected, she opened her eyes again. This time the fogginess had cleared up so she could see her surroundings clearly.

The whole room was desiccated, not a drop of water anyway. That itself made her realise that she wasn't at her home anymore, very far indeed by the looks of it. Then she looked around, the wooden walls made her think that she was in a cabin of sorts, the type that she had often read about in the books she collected from wrecked ships. The size of the room was fairly spacious, not too small but not extremely big either. There was a table situated far in the corner and on top of it was a black rectangular device, and next to it was a white mug with steam hovering over it. She couldn't see any specific personal belongings; the cabin appeared to be a slightly bare, it seemed to have all the essentials but no personal touch was visible at all.

The fact that she was clearly out of her depth and in a strange place sank in and defensively she folded her arms but then froze up when she felt a strange texture on her arm. Straightaway she looked down at her hands. She noticed that she was wearing a forest green clothe of some sort,, a type she had often seen some humans wearing whenever she travelled. Tentatively she touched and stretched it; wide eyed she looked at it with curiosity.

"You are awake," a gruff voice spoke up, with a hint of kindness in his tone.

Scared by the noise, Rose whipped her head up and stared. Standing in front of her was a man, not just a man but obviously a _human _man. He appeared to be in his mid-forties, and had short cropped hair. He was wearing black jeans, black jumpers and a worn black leather jacket. He stood tall, confidently, but what stood out to her about him were his ocean blue eyes, she had never seen someone's eyes with that shade of blue, and right now those bright eyes were trained on her.

Instinctively Rose flinched away; she had never been this close to a human before. They weren't allowed too to be anywhere near humans, but Rose had always been a bit of a rebel, so she had often swam near shores of beaches and spied on them. She couldn't help it; she was curious about them and often did it. But she had never been _this _close to one and it was unnerving, as well as exciting.

John's eyes softened and he walked towards her, when she flinched again, John reached his hands out towards her to try and calm her down.

"It's okay—I am not going to hurt you," he spoke softly.

It was obvious, that from the state in which he had found her, that she was traumatised, someone had done this to her and he wanted to reassure her he had no intention of hurting her too. His words seemed to have a soothing effect in her because she relaxed, her defensive stance went away and she looked at him more fully, but she still did not speak. He found the silence a bit uncomfortable but he did not break it, he didn't want to scare her again.

He opened his mouth to try and talk to her when she finally spoke up.

"How do those work?" she asked tentatively, her voice soft.

"Sorry?" John was taken aback by her question, not understanding what she was asking.

"How do those work?"

John looked at Rose quizzically; as she pointed at him. It took him a few more minutes to realise Rose was pointing at his legs. He looked down at them and then looked back up at Rose, trying to understand if she was asking what he thought she was asking.

"My legs?" he asked uncertainly. Rose nodded at that looking at his as if this were a conundrum to her.

"I think you know how they work, since you have them as well," John smiled, humouring her. He realised that she must be in shock, that's why she was joking like that.

Rose looked at him as if he had two heads, did she hear right? He thought she had legs? She didn't have legs, she had tail. Wait she had tail, why wasn't he reacting to it? Humans weren't aware of mermaids; the mermaids had made sure of that.

She looked down to check out her tail and froze. Instead of the familiar sight of her sun-kissed tail, she saw a pair of legs. She opened her mouth but then closed it again. The sight of those legs, attached to _her _was impossible!

Instead of feeling dread at the sight, exhilaration took over. Wanting to test out her new legs, she quickly forced herself off the couch and placed her brand-new-legs on the floor. But she still wasn't used to it yet, the sensation felt unusual and she found herself falling. Before she could hit the ground, she fell against a firm body. She looked up to see that it was the human man and he was looking at her intensely. Rose couldn't help but smile sheepishly at that, feeling silly that she fell.

He placed her back on the couch and this time Rose didn't try to stand up again.

"I am John, John Smith—and you are?" he asked awkwardly.

"Rose. Thank you for catching me I didn't think that would happen…" she trailed off, feeling embarrassed. John smiled but after few seconds, his smile disappeared and serious expression overtook it.

"So…how did you end up out there?" asked John, there was no point hedging—his protective instincts were out and he wanted to help her.

Rose considered his question and wondered the same thing herself how did she end up there? The last thing she remembered was being in the ocean with her father. He had been training her on how to deal with people once she took over the throne; she was the next in line and Poseidon had been planning to give her the reigns since she was the eldest of her brothers and sisters. So how did she end up from there to all the way here? She squinted her eyes in confusion; no that wasn't it, that wasn't where she was last. Last time she had been out exploring with Reinette, her younger sister. They had been exploring when suddenly a hoard of mermen came and began chasing them. To hide from them Rose and Reinette had hidden in a wrecked ship but when the mermen came in there Reinette had given her away.

Her eyes darkened as she remembered the betrayal. It had taken her few more seconds from that moment to realise that Reinette had hired them in the first place. So she did all she could at the moment—she did her best to swim away, not looking back at all. The last thing she remembered was swimming up to the shore before exhaustion overtook her.

"Rose?" John asked again.

At this Rose looked up and gazed at him. Although his face was hard, his eyes held genuine concern which caused Rose to smile. Any suspicion she had about him vanished, he appeared nice and cared for her. But she couldn't tell him what she was or what really happened to her. She had a duty, her father had specifically told her and everyone to keep their existence a secret from humans. If the humans ever found out about them, then they would cage and study them and she didn't want to cause that.

"I-don't know I don't remember."

John blinked but wasn't that surprised, trauma can cause amnesia.

"Do you remember anything else, like where you live or your family?"

Rose shook her head. At this John shook his head and muttered under his breath.

"Fantastic, just fantastic, very typical…" he said shaking his head.

Rose fell silent at this; John looked back at Rose, who was looking at him with doe-eyes. It was then that an idea entered his head. He knew he might regret it soon but he spoke up before he could change his mind.

"Well, I am staying here for a while, you could stay with me until your memories recover if you want, I won't force you too but I am offering." He said while running his hand through his hair, a nervous habit. He didn't want to course her but was giving the option.

Rose blinked, surprised at the offer, and thought it through. She knew she should go back home, even though Reinette had betrayed her, her father must be missing her—but the curious, rebellious side of her wanted to accept the offer. A chance to be in human world and observe them? It was a brilliant opportunity. She sneaked at glance back at John and then smiled, knowing what her decision would be.

"That would be lovely," Rose said, smiling.

She would stay with John for few days and then go back home.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Rose had originally planned to stay with John for two days and then go back home. But this was the fourth day, and yet she was still here. Why? Mainly she was fascinated. Not just by the scenery (it was gorgeous), or the use of her newfound legs, no—the most fascinating thing she found was the human man with whom she was currently staying.

John Smith was intriguing, he appeared tough and intimidating at first but as time passed she realised he was a man of mystery. He was layered; on the whole he appeared gruff but over the days they spent together, she saw more layers underneath the tough exterior. He could be shy, incredibly shy on occasion; on the first night she'd stayed, he had gone shopping for her since she didn't have any clothes with her. When he'd come back he had given her the clothes, stumbling over his words. He was often sweet too; he had gone out for a walk in the beach and had taken her with him. He had shown her around the beach, taken her to the tourist shops and even made her try new foods (new to her but not to him though). He had said she could try getting actually inside the water since it had been quite a sunny day but Rose had declined, she couldn't go into the water, definitely not in front of John.

That was one new thing Rose had discovered when she went to the bathroom—when droplets of water fell on her, her newfound legs turned back into her golden tail. Thankfully the door was closed so John hadn't seen the transformation. It wasn't until Rose dried herself fully did her tail transformed back into the legs. That incident at least let her know how she ended up with legs. She wondered why her father did not tell her of this little perk, but she had the idea that not even her father knew. The only reason her tail turned into legs was because she was out of water long enough, there is no way her father would get out of water and be on shore that long, seeing as he disliked humans so much.

She also learned that John had a short temper; just yesterday she saw him yelling at the black rectangular device (she had heard him call it a laptop) and insulting random people, particularly someone called Donna.

That's what he was currently doing now; he was glaring at the object. The curiosity inside Rose was too much and she flopped down next to him. That seemed to have startled him because he looked up at her

Rose looked at the screen and looked back at him.

"What are you doing?" Rose asked, squinting at the words on the screen.

John looked at her wondering how to answer her. She was an enigma to him; she had such innocence in her that it both baffled and hooked him. She was different. Different and odd; she was surprised by every little thing, inside and outside the cabin, she had asked about almost every electrical device inside the cabin, wondering about what they were and how they worked. When they went to the beach she didn't even know what ice cream was, but once she had it she enjoyed it. This worried him wholly; this level of amnesia was uncommon and obviously not good. He had wanted to take her to the hospital but she had vehemently shaken her head when he suggested it yesterday. He didn't want to frighten her so he kept quiet and obeyed her, even though he knew better. While she was odd, she seemed to have wormed her way inside his armour without even trying. Her quirks and her personality appealed to him because he had never encountered someone like her before, and he had meet a lot of people, almost every type or so he had thought until he meet Rose.

He was still worried about the condition in which she was found. The fact that she had been nude especially concerned him–that she might have been attacked. But there hadn't been any visible injuries so that kept him calm. He was glad that he was the one who found her, if anyone else had found her, then they could have easily taken advantage of her and that thought did not settle well with him.

Right now her gaze was trained onto him, eyes sparkling with curiosity.

"My book," he said while sighing.

"You are writing a book?" she had a big smile on her face, this piece of information exciting her. The fact that he had a creative side added to the layer he already had and she loved finding out more.

John appeared astonished by the enthusiasm she exuded but her excitement flared up his own and he couldn't help but smile at her.

"Yes, that is why I came here. My publisher and _boss_ thought that a change of scenery would help me finish it," said John sighing.

"Why do you need help?" wondered Rose, furrowing her eyebrows now confused.

"Because I am stuck, I-I don't know what to do in the story next, it seems stagnant and I don't know what else to add," he had a scowl on his face after that.

Rose blinked at that and stared at the words. Then she turned back to him and spoke up.

"What is the story? Your plot?"

"This isn't a standalone book. Its part of a series, I have written eight other books and this is the ninth book in the line. The books are about a man—alien really—with a time and space travelling machine," at this Rose raised her eyebrows and John laughed "I know aliens, unlikely to exist but I thought it would have been a nice idea and apparently people approve of it."

Rose did not comment on the alien comment, she was a mermaid, a creature of myth so she wouldn't dispute aliens. She nodded, a signal for John to carry on.

"Well he is always having adventures, saving the world, the hero type, and in the last book that I wrote, his planet Gallifrey was destroyed and he is the only one left. Rehash of Superman if you will except in this case he is a over 900 year-old alien, not a baby," trailed John expectantly, at which Rose gave him a blank look, "You know Superman?" but there was still no recognition in her eyes, "The Last Son of Krypton? Err…never mind, after that I don't know how to continue it. I have written a few chapters of him going on adventure on his own but it isn't working. I know it's missing something but I don't know what that is," his voice rose up and he growled out the last few words.

"Is the main character right now just him?" Rose wondered out-loud, John nodded at this. Rose was silent for a while, John, not used to her being silent for long, looked at her but her gaze was not focused on him. She was staring a head.

".Make him meet someone else."

"What?" John was taken back by that comment, not expecting that.

"Make him meet someone else; you said that his planet was destroyed and he is alone, why not bring someone else, a friend or something," John turned fully and stared at her.

When John didn't say anything, Rose continued talking.

"It would be nice to have a friend to share the woes with, a hand to hold. Everybody needs a hand to hold you know," said Rose solemnly, she looked back at John and noticed that he was staring at her blankly she blushed, feeling embarrassed and looked down.

"I mean it's just a suggestion, if you don't like it then you don't have to use it, I am sorry-" Rose stopped mid-rant when she felt a warm hand holding onto hers, she looked down to see that John was holding her hand, she looked up at him and he his eyes were warm.

"That's actually a good idea…" he trailed.

Rose blinked in surprise and then smiled. Things were turning out better than she had actually expected.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Rose told herself that she would leave the next day, but John wanted to take her around Cardiff, so she decided to put it off. She promised herself she would go the day after that. But then John cooked a chicken dish which was too delicious to just discard; he had resorted to cooking only meat dishes after her horrified expression and refusal of fish.

That incident had dismayed her; the thought of eating it seemed absolutely cannibalistic to her. It had shocked John but he rolled with the punches and didn't cook fish anymore, even though he himself had found her reaction odd. Every day, something new would come up to catch her attention, until finally she almost gave up the thought of leaving. She knew she wasn't going to stay here forever—that was an absurd thought—but she would stay for now. She will go back one day. Just not today. There were too many intriguing things to see, including John.

She didn't want to admit it but she was slightly started to get attached to John. As days passed she was starting to unravel the enigma that was John. He had liked her idea for his book and had incorporated another character per her suggestion. That seemed to have made him happier because he didn't scream at the laptop anymore – instead, he seemed to be on fire while writing. Sometimes she noticed him staring at her, with a frown on his face. She had thought she had offended him but whenever she would catch him watching her he would smile and look away.

She had wondered whether to outright ask him what he was thinking but then changed her mind. She would wait for him to say it out loud; she didn't want to be the one asking, because if something was wrong then she didn't want to know. She didn't want to leave now and if he asked her then she would be devastated.

Right now Rose was basking in the warmth as the sunshine poured through the windows. The sensation of being dry all the time still baffled her but after staying here for few days she adapted to the weather and actually began to like the warmth. It didn't feel unusual anymore.

John had run out fifteen minutes ago to get groceries. She had offered to keep him company but he said she didn't have to, he would be back soon. He had been acting very strange today; his mood had been oddly down today. Before going out, his eyes were often glazed out and even when they weren't, his expression was doleful. It was worrying her, she only hoped that when he came back his mood might be better.

She was lost in her thoughts when the doorbell rang. Rose looked at the door pensively. John never rang the doorbell of the cabin since he had keys. She bit her lip thoughtfully, should she open the door? When the doorbell rang again Rose stood up and walked towards it, hoping it was John because she didn't know how to react if it weren't him. John was the only human she fully interacted with.

She opened the door and froze, because the person on the other side certainly wasn't John. It was a woman. She appeared to be in her mid-thirties and had auburn hair framing her face and piercing green eyes, which were wide and trained on her.

"Who the hell are you?" the woman shouted while staring at her like a hawk.

"Umm, I uh-"

"Where the hell is John?"

"Wait, you know John?" said Rose looking at the woman curiously.

"Of course I know that pillock, is he in there?" asked the woman as she walked inside. Rose moved out of the way awkwardly, not sure how to react. She only hoped that the woman really knew John otherwise there could be problems.

"Umm no, you are?"

"Donna, where did he go? He should be here."

"Shopping…wait Donna as in his publisher Donna?" wondered Rose because that name rang a bell. Her words seemed to have caught Donna's attention as she looked at Rose, this time looking surprised and angry. Rose visibly flinched, not sure what she had done to incur this mood swing.

"Publisher? He called me just his publisher?" Donna said shaking her head in disbelief.

"Umm yes?"

Before Donna could say anything else, the door opened again and this time it really was John who walked in.

"Rose-" he started but then froze when he noticed that beside Rose was Donna, and she did not look amused.

"Publisher? I am simply just your publisher; did you happen to boot me off the family tree?" John scowled at those words while Rose looked shocked.

"You are his sister?" wondered Rose looking at Donna.

"No—cousin as well as publisher," sighed John as he walked until he was standing next to Donna and Rose, "Why are you here? You said that you would wait for me to finish the book, then I would go back to London."

"You know why I am here, you know what day it is. Are you coming with me?" Donna looked at John intently. As soon as Donna said those words though, John stiffened, his eyes darkened and his face became blank. This drastic change surprised her, she hadn't seen that dark expression on his face before and it didn't settle well with her.

"Go Donna," John spoke monotonously, Donna looked surprised by that and looked even more incensed.

"You are not going to come?"

"Donna just go, I will see you back in London once I finish the novel," he ran his hand through his hair and dropped the shopping bag on the ground. Rose felt like she was in a battleground and stepped back. She wanted to know more but she didn't want to make this worse. Donna visibly growled and then looked away.

"Fine stay here with your tart!" she said indignantly. Rose stared at Donna, confused as to why she was calling her a dessert, but John's jaw tightened at that comment and he did not look pleased "Find me when your book is done since all I mostly am is your publisher," said Donna as she turned around and left, slamming the door hard.

Silence enveloped them.; Rose looked around not sure what to do. John finally turned away from the door and stared at Rose.

"Sorry, you shouldn't have had to see that," said John as he sat down on the couch. Rose followed suit and sat down next to him.

After few more minutes of silence Rose spoke up softly.

"Where did she want you to go, what happened?"

John didn't reply though, he was looking down in his hand. When he didn't say anything Rose changed her mind and back-pedalled.

"Its fine, you don't have to tell me-I was just wondering" Rose trailed but then stopped when John took her hand.

"Me and my parents often did not get along that well. We were tight-knit family but occasionally had fights, mainly because I had my father's temper and when things got heated, having two similar personalities did not help," Rose kept quiet and let John keep talking, looking at him warmly to encourage him, "The last family reunion we had was ten years ago and suffice to say it did not end well either. We were having a heated argument and I just couldn't take it anymore so I-I left that day and went for a drive to clear my mind. It wasn't even twenty minutes when I got the call," John's hold tightened on her hand and Rose held back tightly as well.

"There was a fire, apparently just minutes after I left the house burned down with them in there. There had been a short circuit and it -didn't end well. It was 10 years ago this day," he spoke in a composed voice. Rose's eyes went wide in realisation and she looked at him, sorrow in her eyes.

"John…"

"I haven't visited their graves since the funeral. Donna wanted me to visit them with her this year but I just can't do it. The guilt is just too strong, my last words to them were vile and I feel that it's my fault that they're gone."

Rose had been quiet the whole time but his last words took her by surprise.

"Your fault? John you cannot blame yourself, you said it was a short circuit and that it was an accident, and you did not set it on fire."

"I was supposed to be there, if I had been there than I could have prevented it or done _something._"

John had let go of her hand and was clutching his hair now, shaking in distress.

"John, John!" Rose raised her voice when she saw that her first call did not reach him. Her tone was enough to gain his attention because he stopped shaking and looked at her. Rose looked at him intensely to make sure that he took her seriously.

"It was not your fault, it sounds like a tragic accident, there was nothing that you could have done to prevent it, if you had been there then you would be _dead. _I don't know about you but I wouldn't want that. Even if your last words to them were in anger they knew you loved them and you know they loved you. You can't blame yourself or let the guilt eat you up," Rose said, stroking his hand.

Her words seemed to have some effect, John stance became more relaxed and his blue eyes seemed calmer, tranquil even, like a sea after the storm.

Rose smiled when she noticed this but stopped when John removed his hand from hers. Before she could even frown, John took her arm and tugged her closer. Rose shrieked slightly as the force caused her to fall right against John's chest. She looked up at him to see why he did that but it was only then she noticed the lack of space between their faces. She tried to look at him through her lashes but the intensity in his eyes made her flush. He reached out and slowly caressed her cheek lightly while Rose unconsciously leaned into his palm. His eyes were still trained on her, as if searching for something. A part of her wished he would stop looking at her that way but another part of her revelled in it.

He smiled suddenly, as if he found exactly what he was looking for. Before Rose could wonder any longer, he pulled her forward and pressed his lips against hers. Rose froze at that, but soon relaxed and sighed against him while instinctively wrapping her arms around his neck. That seemed to be his cue because he increased the pressure by leaning even more forward.

After a few minutes, which seemed like forever, he pulled away and looked at her, this time his eyes lighter than previously.

"Well that was different…" muttered Rose while looking at him. At her statement John laughed and pulled her in a hug, while Rose made herself comfortable by snuggling into his neck.

Rose smiled as she slowly caressed John's face again. The room was shrouded in darkness but still the light from the moon poured out from the window and was lighting him up. He was sound asleep but Rose still had yet to fall.

She just couldn't stop smiling, it seemed unreal. She was still loosely playing with his hair when she suddenly gasped. Immediately her hand went over her chest, she felt as if knives were clawing her heart. The pain was immense; it caused her to fall out of the bed and onto the floor. She was breathing hard when suddenly water, out of nowhere surrounded her. She squinted her eyes in confusion then remembered the power of her father's trident.

"No." Rose called out as she realized what was happening.

"No, no, no, no, no."

But no one had heard her plea, she tried to reach out for John but then a shower of water surrounded her and she saw no more.

When minutes passed, the room was dry once again, with no sight of water or Rose, leaving John the only one in the bedroom, still asleep.


	5. Chapter 5

Epilogue

When John woke up in the morning he was in a lighter mood than before. The memories of yesterday came rushing back and he couldn't help but smile. Things had gone well, talking with Rose certainly took the burden off and what she said also made sense. Although he fully did not still forgive himself for that night he still felt better.

He slowly opened his eyes and turned to his left to find her but then noticed that she wasn't there. Not only that, when he placed his hand on her side of the bed it felt cold, as if she had been gone a long time. Immediately a frown marred his face. Quizzical, he got out of the bed and walked out of the room in search of her.

"Rose?" he called out. But there was no sign of her. He walked into the kitchen to see whether she was making breakfast or at least trying to. Last time she tried to use the toaster she broke it and set the fire alarm off, for some reason she did not seem to know how to use electric objects.

When he found the kitchen empty too, that's when panic started to set in. Pace increased, he searched every inch of the cabin but still there was no Rose in sight.

Where was she? He didn't think that she would up and leave on her own, she seemed happy, at least he thought so. So how had she disappeared over night?

Though he was perplexed the determination to find her overwhelmed him and he grabbed his jacket to go out. Maybe she decided to take a walk down on the beach.

He looked all day and most of the night but still he found no sign of her. His willpower was dwindling as more time passed. He had asked even passerby if they had seen her, but no one had. She seemed to have vanished into thin air.

It was past midnight before he returned back to the cabin again. This time it felt incredibly cold, even though the heating was set high. His eyes fell on a black shawl draped over the sofa, the one Rose had been wearing. That shawl seemed to be the only evidence that she had been here at all, because without that or a few other bits of clothes that he had gotten for her there was no proof that she even existed. While that seemed impossible, the alternative did not make him feel any better; the fact that she left him willingly.

He was weary and drained after spending whole day looking for her but he knew sleep wouldn't come to him. Not now or even for the next few days. His eyes fell on his laptop and he remembered the book he was writing. Needing distraction and an outlet, he opened it and started writing.

That had happened six months ago, six months ago he had met the girl who had easily wormed her way under his shield and then left. He had gone back to London but occasionally still went back to Bad Wolf Bay, just hoping that he would find her there again like the first time.

But every time he went there, all he got was disappointment. He wanted to stop going back but although he suffered disappointment, the hopeful part of him always thought that one day he might walk into her.

Before he had been angry at the fact that she willingly left him but right now he just wanted to see her. He didn't care why she left—he just wanted to be with her although they had an age difference, she was different from other people, and they'd made a connection that he hadn't found with anyone else.

The book had been finished just a month after she disappeared. Her suggestion had kick started his muse and he incorporated a second main character named after her. The Doctor was weary after the loss of his planet; he needed someone with Rose's personality to get his head in gear.

Although Rose had disappeared from his life, part of her was still there with him in the book, the only thing he had of her now.


End file.
